North Phoenix Storm: Sudden Deluge, Amazing Rainbow

As a thunderstorm wound down and the sun was setting, this rainbow arose over Anthem on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. Photo by Marius Britt

The chance of rain was just 20 percent today. That’s all Mother Nature needed. The downpour got serious just after 5 p.m. in Anthem as a series of thunderstorm cells soaked much of the I-17 corridor from Norterra through Black Canyon City to the Sunset Point Rest Area.

Then, just as it was setting, the sun poked out and generated an incredible, horizon-to-horizon rainbow.

This panorama image shows the rainbow to the east, and the source of its light — the sunset to the west. Photo by Marius Britt

This month was already the wettest October ever for Phoenix, with 5.32 inches so far at Sky Harbor Airport. It’s also the 4th wettest month ever, period. Local storm totals as of 6:15 p.m.:

NoPho resident Robert Roy Britt has written for In&Out publications since its inception in 2005. Britt began his journalism career in New Jersey newspapers in the early 1990s. He later became a science writer and was editor-in-chief of the online media sites Space.com and Live Science. He has written four novels. Email the author.

Robert Roy Britt

NoPho resident Robert Roy Britt has written for In&Out publications since its inception in 2005. Britt began his journalism career in New Jersey newspapers in the early 1990s. He later became a science writer and was editor-in-chief of the online media sites Space.com and Live Science. He has written four novels. Email the author.